Israeli security forces have arrested an Israeli citizen of Arab origin, resident of the town of Mazraa in the north of the country, for alleged collaboration with Iran’s intelligence services through obtaining and sending data about sensitive facilities and targets of a strategic nature.
The detainee, identified as Wisam Galeb Salej Awad, was captured in a joint operation by the General Security Service (Shin Bet) and the Central Unit of the Police of the Asher district. The investigation, which began last month, concludes that he made contact on his own initiative with Iranian agents via Telegram to offer them his services for ideological reasons, without any financial consideration, with the intention of carrying out revenge, as Israel Police has explained in a statement released on social media.
According to this report, Awad would have taken photographs of military bases, strategic infrastructures, and police premises, in addition to sending his contacts images and geographic coordinates for eventual later use. He would also have expressed his support for organizations such as the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbolá, considered a terrorist organization by Israel.
During the search of his home, several mobile phones and computers were seized. After completing the inquiries and gathering the evidence, the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office is scheduled to file this Sunday a charge of serious gravity against the suspect and to ask that he remain in pretrial detention until the judicial process ends.
The operation is set within a scenario of growing military tension in the Middle East, in which in recent years dozens of people have been detained in Israel for alleged links of cooperation with Iranian intelligence services. In this type of case, security forces rarely make public detailed evidence that supports the charges.